Content for this document is still being developed. Pages that have not been reviewed for accuracy include a warning to that effect.

About this document

This guide will describe how to install the LSST Software Stack, how to run pipelines and other tasks, and how to configure them to develop your own data reduction applications. It will also describe the supporting packages and their use, and various key concepts that are important for understanding LSST Data. This document is geared towards end-users (e.g., Science Collaborations), other LSST Teams, and Production operators who primarily need to either analyze data, or run the pipeline code over large sets of data. DM developers and advanced users who need to know both how to run the LSST Software and how to build on top of it will also find the LSST DM Developer Guide to be essential reading.

Document Downloads

You may capture the content in PDF from the pull-down menu: Tools→Export to PDF, though the rendering is often less than satisfactory.

Release History

The LSST Software Stack is released periodically. Use the tag to setup packages for use.

Revisions to this document occur for every major release of the LSST Stack, although releases for substantial minor updates may occur as well. Links to this page will always point to the most recent version of this document. The most recent version of that table is the latest stable release.

Typographical Conventions

Technical documentation is often a struggle to read. This document features some typographical conventions to help the reader understand the content, and to help distinguish explanatory text from dialog with the computer.

Technical Terminology

The descriptions in this User Guide include many technical terms, spanning two professional domains, that appear in boldface type. The first time a technical term is used on a page it is linked with a definition in one of two glossaries: The Astro Glossary covers astronomical terms and concepts, and the DMS Glossary covers terms used in software development as well as terms used to describe the DMS system components and function.

Software Packages

Names of software packages, including packages that were built by Data Management for the LSST Stack, appear in boldface type. Names of third-party packages are often linked to the web site from which they can be downloaded.

Code Blocks and Literals

When describing a process for using software, the text that should be typed by the user appears in a code block:

Example code block

echo "Hello, world!"

with fixed-space font and (often) syntax highlighting that is appropriate for the context. Text describing a literal command-line, names of arguments, directory and file names, etc. are set in fixed-space font.